See that image up there? It's causing a big stir with the Advertising Standards Authority, reports the BBC. According to them, the Bizazza ad (it's a tile company) implies that "sexual violence had taken place or was about to". Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki certainly didn't seem to think so when he devised the ads in the first place ... but anyone who knows the role women have held over the years of the evolution of Japanese society certainly may feel it makes a statement.

For me, this mess certainly strikes a chord, because I've seen ads that offended me far more or that toed the line more explicitly. To me, the woman's face does not reflect terror or distress, but rather she looks somewhat calm. However, the ASA claimed that she was "shown in a submissive pose, appeared visibly upset and was shown with her kimono pushed up to expose her thigh". The ad has since been banned and will not be reused.

Do you think the ad is too much? If not, why not?